Timing Is Everything
by Traci
Summary: 3rd in the holiday series - It's New Year's Eve and Monica goes to Mexico - but will John go after her?


Disclaimer: Sigh, no matter how many times I beg and threaten I just can't seem to get ownership. Darn it!  
  
Category: DRR  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Spoilers: Uh, just the other 2 stories in this series... 'Food, Football, and Friends (Thanksgiving)' and 'Do You Believe in Christmas Miracles?' - especially the Christmas one in the beginning... both can be found at fanfiction.net  
  
Author's Notes: This story is much shorter than the others but I hope everyone likes it anyway hehehe. Thanks to all who gave me feedback on the other two - this story is for all of you!!!   
  
Happy New Year's!!!!!!  
  
  
  
Timing Is Everything  
  
  
"Guess you'd better get going."   
  
"Yeah, guess so."  
  
A soft snow began to fall; a thin layer of white coated the asphalt.  
  
"I'll see you soon, then?"  
  
"Yeah, see you soon."  
  
"So..." John Doggett took a deep breath. Saying goodbye was a lot harder than he had thought it would be, no matter how many times he had rehearsed it over and over since Christmas.  
  
"So..." The dark-haired woman sighed. "Think Luka will be alright?"  
  
John smiled. "She'll be fine. With her father home now, I'm sure everything will be wonderful for their New Year's."  
  
A tear formed in Monica Reyes' eye. She had befriended Luka shortly before Christmas while Luka's father was in a coma. Together, she and John helped make Christmas a very special day for the little girl.   
  
"You'd better get going, Monica. Planes wait for no one and unless you want your parents up here hunting you down..."  
  
Biting her lower lip, her chestnut eyes slowly, almost shyly, met the blue ones of her partner, her best friend, her... what were they now? "I'll miss you, John," she whispered.  
  
Reaching out, he gently touched her cheek and wiped away her tear. "I'll miss you too." His heart pounded, cried out for him to take her in his arms and not let her leave for Mexico, but he could not, he would not do that. She had missed Christmas with her family; he would not let her miss New Year's. "Call you at midnight?"  
  
She nodded then, dropping her bags to the ground, wrapped her arms around him. "Happy New Year's, John."  
  
"Happy New Year's, Monica."   
  
"Excuse me, Sir, but you have to move your car."  
  
John and Monica stepped away from each other and looked at the police officer.  
  
"New regulations," he shrugged.  
  
"Okay." John turned back to Monica. "I'll pick you up when you get back."  
  
Again, she nodded.   
  
They remained lost in each other.   
  
"I guess I'd better go." Slowly she picked up her luggage, gave John one last look, and disappeared among the crowds of people in the airport.  
  
He stared after her for a brief moment before, with heavy heart, he returned to his truck and pulled away.  
  
***********  
  
It had been two days since Monica had last seen John. Being New Year's Eve only made her miss him that much more.   
  
Her mother watched her from the couch. Her daughter remained uncharacteristically quiet. "Why don't you go back to him," she finally said.  
  
Monica looked up. "What?"  
  
"John. You obviously love him and miss him. Why don't you go back to DC today?"   
  
Shaking her head, she responded, "I can't. I'm here to spend time with you and Papa."  
  
Her mother smiled. "It would make us much happier if you were happy."  
  
"I'd never make it back to DC in time anyway."  
  
"It's only eleven there. If you get the next flight out..."  
  
"Mama, I cannot believe you are actually pushing me out!" She grinned and stood up. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Need you even ask that? Do you want to call him?"  
  
"No, I'll make it a surprise." She gave her mother a hug. "I love you, Mama."   
  
*************  
  
With a deep-throated growl, John threw the television remote across the room. For two hours he had done nothing but surf through the one-hundred plus channels and found nothing but parades and the New Year's movies that only made him think of Monica and that, in turn, only made him miss her that much more.  
  
This is crazy. It's not like we're even dating. He sighed. When and how did things get so complicated? Glancing at the clock, he closed his eyes. Suddenly they flew opened, he grabbed his coat and ran out the door.  
  
*************  
  
Monica hugged her mother and father at the gate. "Are you both sure you don't mind?"  
  
Her father took her hand. "We'd mind more if you didn't go. John seems like a wonderful man... someone worthy of my daughter."  
  
She blushed.  
  
"Now you get yourself back in DC and let us know how things go!" he demanded with a smile.  
  
"I love you, Papa," Monica told him, hugging him. "And he is wonderful."  
  
The intercom announced her plane was boarding so, picking up her bags once again, she said final goodbyes and boarded.  
  
*************  
  
John looked at his watch. It was nearly noon Eastern Time. He would be cutting it close but maybe, just maybe... Reaching in his jacket pocket, he removed a small piece of paper and smiled.  
  
*************  
  
"Nervous?"  
  
Monica turned to the elderly woman sitting beside her. "A little."  
  
The woman smiled. "It's an easy flight. I've done it many times to visit my grandchildren."  
  
"Thank you, but actually that's not what I'm nervous about," Monica admitted.  
  
"Ah. Didn't think so actually. Does he know you're on your way back?"  
  
Her jaw dropped in shock, but she quickly recovered. "No. I wanted to surprise him."  
  
"Have you known him long?"  
  
She laughed. "Almost ten years."  
  
The woman stared at her. "What took you so long?"  
  
"Uh, it was never the right time," was all she told her. There was no need to go into the death of his son, the break-up of his marriage, her time with AD Brad Folmer... and she wasn't lying, it never had been the right time before.  
  
Placing her wrinkled hand over Monica's, the woman looked at her. "Now you both know it's right." With that, she faced forward and began reading a book.  
  
Monica's attention returned to outside the window. If all went well she would be back in DC by ten at night.  
  
***************  
  
"Please return to your seats and buckle your seatbelts. The captain has informed me we will be hitting a little turbulence."  
  
How the flight attendant could say that with a smile was far beyond John's comprehension but he obeyed and double-checked the seatbelt. He looked at his watch.  
  
"Wife?"  
  
Looking up, he saw an elderly lady sitting beside him smiling. "Uh, no a..."  
  
She covered his hand with hers. "No need to explain. She's obviously special to you and I'm guessing you're pretty special to her. Timing is everything."  
  
He nodded just as the plane jolted and the lights flashed. Turning to see if the woman was alright he found the seat to be empty.  
  
*****************  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen. Due to weather conditions on the East Coast, this flight has been grounded for the time being."  
  
Everyone aboard groaned.   
  
"We apologize for any inconvenience, especially on a night like this, but your safety is our foremost concern. Hotel and food vouchers will be handed out as you exit the plane and we will do our best to get all of you out of Chicago first thing tomorrow morning."  
  
Monica sat frozen in her seat fighting back tears. Throughout the flight she had imagined knocking on John's front door just before midnight and finally sharing their moment... a moment stolen from them too many times in the last couple months. With a heavy heart, she unloaded her luggage from the overhead compartment and followed the other passengers.  
  
*************  
  
John's heart raced as he stood outside the wooden door. It was much hotter in Mexico than he had thought, especially given when he left home it had been fifteen degrees Fahrenheit.  
  
Slowly the door creaked opened. "May I... John?" Mrs. Reyes' eyes grew to the size of saucers. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I, uh, I came to see Monica. Is she here?"  
  
Her face fell. "No, I'm sorry." She stepped aside. "Please, come inside."  
  
"That's..." But he stepped inside not wanting to be rude.  
  
"John? What are you doing here?" Monica's father bellowed emerging from the living room.  
  
"That seems to be the popular question. I guess I was wrong and made a mistake. I'm sorry, I'll be going..." Turning to walk out the door, he was stopped by her mother.  
  
"Nonsense. You do not understand. She left this morning to go back to DC - to see you."  
  
For a moment his face lit up then almost as quickly fell. "I'll never make it back now."  
  
The phone interrupted the conversation.  
  
"Hola?" She listened then responded in Spanish to the caller.   
  
John had hoped it would be Monica but obviously it wasn't.   
  
Upon hanging up, Mrs. Reyes turned to John. "Why don't you let me book you a flight back to DC?"  
  
"No, I couldn't ask you..."  
  
But she held up her hands. "It is no trouble at all." She grinned. "We do have the internet down here now too you know."  
  
He returned her smile, sat down, and talked with Monica's father for a bit. Finally, Mrs. Reyes returned. "You're all set. I've booked you the next flight which leaves in half an hour."  
  
"Thanks, but I still won't make it back in time."  
  
"Don't be so sure."  
  
*************  
  
It was a nice hotel room - for a hotel room - all alone - on New Year's Eve. Thoughts of downing at least two bottles of champagne crossed Monica's mind as she lay on the bed. "This isn't the way it was supposed to be," she muttered aloud. She rolled onto her side and looked at the clock. It was ten-thirty, which made it eleven-thirty in DC. Slowly she reached over, picked up the phone, and dialed.  
  
"This is John. I'm not available right now so if you leave your name and number I will return your call."   
  
BEEP  
  
She sighed. "John..." Her voice cracked and she took a deep breath. "John, it's me. I'm in... Chicago. I was trying to get back to DC and then the storm... I'm sorry, I'm babbling. I'm staying at the Hilton by Midway Airport if you feel like calling me... Bye."  
  
Hanging up the phone, she lay in bed and cried.  
  
***********  
  
A loud bang awoke Monica. For a moment she lay in bed disoriented.  
  
Another bang.  
  
She realized someone was knocking. Not really feeling like company she asked, "Who is it?"  
  
There was no answer.  
  
Glancing at the clock, she saw it was only two minutes until midnight. John hadn't called.  
  
Another knock.  
  
With an angry sigh, she got up and walked to the door. Looking through the peephole, her body went numb then she swung the door open.  
  
"Hi," was John's only smiling statement.  
  
Without a word, she hugged him tightly.  
  
He gladly returned the gesture and slowly pushed her back into the room, kicking the door closed with his foot.  
  
"How...?" She looked at him, tears streaming down her face. "How did you know? How did you find me?"  
  
Pulling a piece of paper from his pocket, he handed it to her.  
  
She read it and smiled, meeting his eyes with her own.  
  
"You're mom slipped it in my jacket pocket. Good thing I found it."  
  
"My...? You went to Mexico?"  
  
He nodded and led her back to the bed where they sat. "I needed to see you. I can't explain it, I just did."   
  
"I know. I felt it too."  
  
"There was even this lady on my flight, though I don't know what happened to her, who told me timing was everything."  
  
She stared at him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"An elderly woman?"  
  
He nodded. "You know her?"  
  
"She basically told me the same thing on my flight."  
  
"That's ridiculous. She could not have been on two flights at once!"  
  
Monica reached out and touched his cheek. "Does it matter right now?"  
  
His eyes told her the answer.  
  
"But how did you know to come to Chicago? You say my mom slipped the paper in your pocket which would have been after you booked your flight."  
  
"Um, I think that was your mothers doing too. She insisted on booking my flight back to DC, however, it seems my flight actually ended in Chicago."  
  
Suddenly he took her face in his hands, leaned in, and kissed her.  
  
"Happy New Year's, Monica," he whispered.  
  
She pulled him close, pressing her lips to his and whispered into their kiss, "Happy New Year's, John"  
  
Fireworks exploded in the distance but neither cared enough to watch through the window. Everything they needed for a perfect New Year was in that room, within each other.  
  
  
The End 


End file.
